


Astronomy

by KAHULAYAW



Series: Simptember [5]
Category: K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boyfriends, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Boys' Love, College, Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Cute Ending, Cute Huang Ren Jun, Cutesy, Domestic Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, Doubt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Gangs, Gangsters, Happy Ending, High School, How is that not a tag, Huang Ren Jun is Whipped, Huang Ren Jun-centric, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Titles, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Mentioned Huang Ren Jun, Mentioned Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Mentioned Lee Jeno, Mentioned Lee Taeyong, Mentioned Na Jaemin, Mentioned Zhong Chen Le, Motorcycles, Na Jaemin is Whipped, Na Jaemin-centric, Nervousness, Rain, Reminiscing, Romantic Fluff, Sawasdee University, School, Self-Doubt, Sleep, Sleepiness, Sleeping Together, Sleepy Boys, Sleepy Cuddles, Soft Huang Ren Jun, Soft Na Jaemin, Storms, Student Council, Student Council President Huang Ren Jun, Suspension, Suspension of Classes, The Caerulum Wolves - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ao3 wild, assurance, but again the angst is super light it's barely there, but listen it's super duper light, hehe !!!!, of classes!!!, renmin superior, there's a tag for doubt but none for assurance??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26300680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KAHULAYAW/pseuds/KAHULAYAW
Summary: A storm leads Sawasdee University to suspend its classes. Jaemin brings Renjun home, and ends up staying the night.simptember, entry five
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun & Na Jaemin, Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Series: Simptember [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907308
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	Astronomy

**Author's Note:**

> !!!! this has an implied abuse / cheating / violence tag but it's only very very very lightly touched upon, but if you are uncomfortable with any of those, i've put a warning before and after the part so you can skip it, and then a summary of what happened at the end marker !!!!
> 
> hi! so i saw this [tweet](https://twitter.com/Melvs_ss/status/1300652004444901376) and it was an art challenge about drawing your crushes, either fictional or nonfictional for the whole month of september, and then call it simptember. i absolutely cannot fucking Draw, but still wanted to participate, so i decided to write instead !!
> 
> so this has been in my drafts for two months jdhsjkhfks and i just finished it because i had a really nice vibe with it. i think it's obvious that somewhere in the middle of the work i lost my vibe, since that's where i picked up from where i left off. this still ended up relatively okay for me, but it's not what i expected to produce :^( i hope you enjoy still!!
> 
> also, if you came here from my simptember series, hello, this work is actually part of a [preexisting series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1694245) that i have, and all of the works there are standalone, but this would make more sense if you've read atleast one of them because some details here are references from the previous works.
> 
> sawasdee university visuals : [here!!](https://www.pinterest.ph/minimemeyoongi/sawasdee-university/)
> 
> i hope you enjoy my fifth entry for simptember!!

Renjun was just about done wrapping up the senior highschool student council meeting regarding various matters when he notices the colour of the sky outside. "Alright. Does anybody have anything else to say?"

Once it was ensured that nobody had anything else to say, Renjun officially closes the meeting. "Hong Joo, I need the minutes and the notes of what we discussed during the meeting. Take your time though, I can just get it from you tomorrow." After getting a positive from his secretary, Renjun waves as he watches the student council members file out of the room one by one.

Renjun closes the door behind him when the last of the members, their auditor, exits. He turns in his spot to walk over to the refreshments table. Renjun grabs a brownie and a glass of cucumber juice while looking at the sky. It's darker now than earlier. A flash of lightning followed by heavy rain darkens the skies further, affecting Renjun's mood and turning it into something lazier. He's thankful that he had no class for the rest of the morning, meaning he could just lounge in the student council room until lunchtime came.

Crackling from the horn speaker above his head makes him jump. An announcement, at this time? Renjun's eyebrows knit together in confusion. 'All grade levels are dismissed due to storm signal number three. Again, all grade levels are dismissed due to storm signal number three. Students with fetchers, please proceed to the glasshouses. Again, students with fetchers, please proceed to the glasshouses. Otherwise, independent students are encouraged to go home immediately. Again, independent students are required to go home immediately.'

Renjun sighs. He was looking forward to having lunch with the entire student council today. Maybe another time, he consoles himself. His phone rings in his pocket and he fishes it out, taking a seat on the couch.

"Hey, Nana,"

The background noise is louder than Renjun anticipates. 'Hi, Injun. We just got dismissed by Sir Byun. Where are you right now? I'll pick you up and we can go home.'

Renjun's heart flutters at the way Jaemin considers Renjun's house as his, too. It seems so natural, and the picture Renjun has him and Jaemin living together in the future gets a little bit clearer. "No need, I'm in the student council room right now. I'll meet you by the stairs instead?"

Jaemin hums. 'Alright, Injunie. See you in a bit. I love you.'

Renjun smiles, knowing that Jaemin knows he is. "I love you, too."

He ends the call and runs to the refreshments table to grab a brownie for Jaemin. He contemplates in grabbing another one to bring home to his mum. After ensuring that the two brownies wouldn't get crushed in his bag, he runs off, taking the shortest route possible to get to the stairs. It doesn't take him long to find Jaemin; Renjun's eyes are automatically glued to him whenever they're in the same space, so it was never a big challenge. That and the way Jaemin has always had this air about him that commanded attention.

Jaemin stands on the side of the stairs, leaning on the railing. He has his hands in his Caerulum Wolf jacket, his freshly dyed blue hair slightly tousled from the wind that is getting stronger by the minute. With Jaemin is the rest of the Caerulum Wolves, conversing amongst each other. Renjun notices that the other students going down the stairs to head towards the glasshouses are avoiding getting into contact with the little group. A smile unconsciously makes its way to his face as he sees the Wolves laughing at something one of them said.

Renjun approaches them. Unsurprisingly, Jaemin is the first to notice. "Hi, Jaemin didn't tell me you guys were all together. I would've brought food from the student council room."

"Aw, Jaemin hyung is such an idiot as always!" Chenle says, yelping when Jaemin pinches him.

"Student council room food always hits different though," Donghyuck whines. Second to Jaemin, Donghyuck is the one who gets student council room food often due to him and Renjun sharing a lot of classes.

Renjun laughs. "Don't worry, I'll bring the whole table next time. How are you guys getting back?"

"We're just waiting on Taeyong hyung. He'll be here in a minute. You guys should get on the road though, traffic will get bad soon." Jeno answers, pocketing his phone, a quick message sent to their leader.

"Alright. Injun and I'll go ahead. Stay safe." Jaemin nods as a goodbye to his members and Renjun smiles at them.

It makes him blush when Jaemin holds his hand as they go down the stairs. Students keep a wider radius away from them as they all move towards the glasshouses. Their relationship wasn't something secret or private; they didn't mind who saw them, really, but Renjun wasn't used to public displays like this. Holding hands might be the most innocent display of affection, but Renjun is only a shy boy. His heart pounds louder in his ears than the low rumbling of the storm. They reach Jaemin's motorcycle, Jaemin fixing Renjun's helmet on his head and buckling the clasp. Jaemin wears his own helmet and they get on the road.

The rain gets stronger by the time Sawasdee University disappears behind the first left turn. It's quick to soak through Renjun's clothes. Renjun flinches at the harsher raindrops hitting his bare arms, the raindrops like little pellet bullets. Jaemin stops at the side of the road as the rain gets harder and gets off the motorcycle. Renjun, confused, follows, but hands on his thighs stop him. Renjun watches Jaemin remove his leather jacket to hand it to him.

Jaemin gets as close to Renjun's ear as he can with their helmets in the way. "Wear it. I'm sorry for not giving it earlier, it slipped my mind." Jaemin stands back straight, smiling at Renjun.

Renjun's heart warms at how thoughtful Jaemin was. How sweet. "I love you. Go drive!" Renjun jumps in his seat.

Jaemin laughs and starts the motorcycle only when Renjun finally has his arms wrapped around his torso. He goes a little faster as the rain falls harder.

They arrive at Renjun's house without any more stops, both absolutely drenched. This time, instead of the corner street that has become their place, Renjun tells Jaemin to park his motorcycle at the back of their house. Jaemin was iffy about it the whole time, even more protests spilling faster from his mouth the moment he saw the car parked in the back. The only reason why he ended up agreeing was because Renjun had a point : the back had a roof so Jaemin's motorcycle wouldn't get as wet as it would if he parked in the corner street. Even as Jaemin removes his and Renjun's helmets, he has a frown on his face and a crease between his eyebrows.

"What if she sees?" Jaemin asks, picking at his lips.

"Nana, it's fine. Trust me." Renjun smiles, kissing Jaemin's forehead. He pats Jaemin's hair down in an attempt to fix the tousled strands that puffed up when Jaemin removed his helmet.

Jaemin has a hand on Renjun's, or, well, his jacket, as Renjun twists the key into the locks on the door. Renjun finds it adorable how Jaemin was so nervous. Then again, it was Jaemin's first time parking at their house, Jaemin's first time coming in through the front door, and Jaemin's first time interacting with Renjun's mum. It hadn't happened yet, but Renjun was sure that since the car was parked, his mother would be waiting for him to come home. She would definitely see Jaemin and strike up a conversation with him. A small smile sneaks itself onto Renjun's face as he pushes the door open. Frantic fingers intertwine with his and he looks behind him to offer Jaemin a bigger smile. Jaemin replies with his own smile, albeit looking a bit like he was going to throw up.

"Renjun? Oh, thank goodness you're back early. I was just about to send you a message." Renjun hears footsteps from the living room, confirming the hunch that his mother was waiting for him.

Jaemin's hold on Renjun's hand tightens painfully. Renjun lets it happen, squeezing back in a comforting gesture. "Yeah, they let us out as soon as the signal number was announced."

His mother appears to their left, hand on the wall that separated the living room from the stairs in front of the couple. Her face shows that she is pleasantly surprised by Renjun's company. "Hello,"

Renjun feels his fingers going numb with how hard Jaemin is holding onto him. "Hello, Ma'am. Good evening." Jaemin's voice cracks embarrassingly, but nobody pays attention to it as he bows.

Renjun can feel Jaemin move closer to him. He smiles, feeling his heart and insides go mushy at Jaemin's cuteness. "Mum, this is Jaemin. He's been wanting to meet you for the longest time."

His mother smiles. "I hope he knows I've wanted to meet him for even longer." Knowing Jaemin, Renjun is sure he chokes upon hearing that. "Hi Jaemin, I'm Renjun's mum."

"Hi, Ma'am. I'm Renjun's schoolmate."

Renjun laughs. "'Schoolmate'!" He repeats, incredulous. He shakes his hand out of Jaemin's iron hold to turn to him. He laughs even harder to see that Jaemin had his head bowed. "Nana, it's alright." He turns back to his mum. "He's my boyfriend." Jaemin gasps behind him. "She knows that much, Nana."

Renjun's mother laughs along. "You don't have to be so nervous around me, Jaemin. I don't bite anymore." Addressing her son this time, she says, "you two should clean up. Take a shower if need be. I don't want anyone getting sick."

Renjun nods. He takes Jaemin's hand and brings him upstairs and into his room. Jaemin only relaxes when Renjun closes the door behind him. He lets out a big breath that Renjun just knows he has been holding ever since they entered the house.

"How was it, Nana?" Renjun asks softly, walking to his closet.

"Really bad," Jaemin mutters. He hugs Renjun's Ryan plushie and lays his head on the Moomin one. "I don't know how to act around parents," his voice is low.

Renjun recognises the tone and hurriedly picks out clothes for both of them so that he could run to Jaemin. He kneels as close to Jaemin as he can, the bed frame digging into his thighs. "Hey, it's okay. You'll be alright. I've got you, okay?"

Jaemin nods, burying his face into Ryan's head. "I love you."

"I love you too, forever boyfriend." Renjun says, knowing the endearment would make Jaemin feel better. He knows it does its job when Jaemin holds his hand. Renjun kisses it. "You should go shower first. You're really wet."

Jaemin nods, sitting up. "Okay. I'll be quick."

"No!" Renjun slaps his hand lightly. "Take your time, don't worry about it. I don't want you getting sick."

Jaemin grins. "Alright," he leans down to plant a soft kiss on Renjun's lips, then forehead, then cheeks. "I love you."

Renjun chases Jaemin's lips to deliver another kiss before pushing him towards his bathroom. "I love you too."

They spend a long time cuddling in bed once both of them were clean and comfortable in Renjun's clothes. Renjun's biggest sweater fit Jaemin almost perfectly, just a little bit short on the arms. Renjun had started to get a little sleepy after accepting Jaemin's offer to towel dry his hair. Jaemin had chuckled, patting Renjun awake every now and then whenever Renjun's head lolled to the side. When Renjun started pulling Jaemin into bed, Jaemin's face suddenly twisted into concern, his nerves showing clearly on his face. He pulls away from Renjun's hold, keeping his posture with one knee on the bed.

"What is it?" Renjun pouts.

"Maybe we should open your door?" Jaemin asks, already looking at the bedroom door.

Renjun makes a noise of confusion. "What for?" They had never opened his door whenever Jaemin was over. In fact, it was always locked whenever Jaemin was here -- "ah." Realisation comes to him together with laughter. "Nana! You're so cute."

Jaemin pouts at Renjun. "Come on, Injunie. She might think we're doing something weird or whatever. I don't want to give off the wrong impression."

Renjun takes Jaemin's hand to kiss it. "Okay, Nana. Whatever you want." Renjun finds it so cute how Jaemin is so conscious of himself around his mum. "Even though I promise she isn't like that, if it makes you feel better, you can open the door."

Jaemin grins. He brings their intertwined hands up and kisses Renjun's. "Okay!"

Jaemin jumps away from the bed and hurries to the door. He twists the knob and opens the door wide. Really wide. So wide that the knob touches the wall. Renjun has never felt so exposed in his own house before, but that's certainly the feeling right now with the door completely open like this. Jaemin's cautiousness really is boundless. Renjun is hit with a wave of affection.

"I really will marry you one day," he whispers, his words audible to only himself.

Jaemin turns to him and runs to the bed. He jumps, falling right on top of Renjun. Renjun feels the breath getting knocked out of him with the weight of Jaemin's entire body slamming onto him. Jaemin laughs. Renjun does, too.

"Now we can cuddle. Come here." Jaemin makes exaggerated movements in getting off of Renjun to lay beside him. He pulls Renjun closer and only stops moving when Renjun's forehead is against his chest.

"You're being so cute right now. We always just cuddle when you're here, so I sort of don't understand why the door has to be open." Renjun looks up. He finds that his lips can reach Jaemin's chin, so he kisses it.

"Your mum doesn't know that that's all we do. And also, that's not all we do. I kiss you a lot here, too." Jaemin says nonchalantly. "Once, we even had --"

Renjun rushes to cover Jaemin's mouth. "I get it!" He shrieks. "I get it. I get your point. We'll keep the door open so that mum knows we're just cuddling and nothing else. I get it. Stop talking now."

Jaemin smirks, bursting into loud laughter when he sees how red Renjun's ears have become in a matter of seconds. He kisses the palm against his lips and Renjun withdraws his hands. "You're adorable."

"You more. I love you, Nana." Renjun settles even more comfortably in Jaemin's arms.

"I love you too, Injun." Jaemin kisses the crown of Renjun's head. He glances out Renjun's window. "The rain just got harder," he comments.

"It's a signal three storm, so that's not surprising. We might be back in school tomorrow, though." Renjun murmurs. His words blend together into something that's barely comprehensible, feeling sleepy again.

Jaemin runs his fingers through Renjun's hair, mussing it up into all the wrong and right directions. He can feel Renjun's body getting heavier with sleep. He decides not to reply, letting Renjun get even sleepier. Instead, he uses his other hand to pat Renjun's back. Together with Jaemin's ministrations and the sound of the rain, Renjun falls asleep. Jaemin kisses Renjun's forehead softly, a kiss that was barely there. Any harder and he might wake Renjun up; the boy was such a light sleeper.

Jaemin carefully leans back to look at Renjun. Renjun, with his eyelashes fanning his cheeks, with his cute nose, with his soft cupid's bow, with his dry lips, with Jaemin's heart in his hands. He looks so peaceful like this, in Jaemin's arms, with the sounds of the storm serving as great background noise. Jaemin feels his heart flourish just at the sight of his boyfriend, the love of his life. He's so lucky. To have someone as amazing, as breathtaking, as ethereal as Huang Renjun, loving someone like Jaemin -- it's unreal. Jaemin doesn't deserve Renjun, not at all, but he's thankful that Renjun loves him the way he does despite everything. Renjun is the most precious stone, the rarest treasure, and Jaemin just happened to be the dirt underneath him.

"My world revolves around you," Jaemin whispers, and the weight of his words solidify this moment in his mind.

Jaemin follows Renjun into sleep shortly after, lulled by the hum of the rain and Renjun's soft breathing.

Renjun's mother comes upstairs half an hour later, surprised to see that the door to her son's bedroom was wide open. She peeks her head inside to find the two boys cuddled in each other's arms, asleep. She decides against taking a picture of them even though the urge is strong. She knocks on the door frame lightly, and it's Jaemin who wakes up first.

Jaemin makes eye contact with Renjun's mother. His eyes widen, and all sleepiness escapes him, panic replacing the empty space left behind. He gulps and untangles himself from Renjun. He knows they weren't doing anything risky, just sleeping innocently, but he still feels like they were caught in the act of doing something worse.

Renjun's mother laughs, and Jaemin notes that she and Renjun have the same laugh. "You don't need to be so scared of me, Jaemin. I just came up to tell you that dinner's ready. Go wake Renjun up. I'll see you two downstairs, alright?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Jaemin answers stiffly. The tension leaves his body in a breath when the door closes. He turns to Renjun, smiling. "Injunie," Jaemin runs his fingers through Renjun's hair, soft from their shower. "Injun," Jaemin repeats, voice a little louder.

Renjun stirs. Jaemin's breath gets caught in his throat as he watches Renjun slowly come back to consciousness, feeling like he's intruding on a holy moment. Renjun's eyes open and they meet Jaemin's. "Hi, Nana," Renjun's hand easily finds Jaemin's fingers. "What's up?"

"Your mum came in, said it was time for dinner." Jaemin brings their intertwined hands up to his lips, kissing each of Renjun's knuckles. "I should get going, too."

Renjun now seems more alert. He sits up on the bed so that he's eye level with Jaemin. "What do you mean?"

"Back to the Den, I mean." Jaemin has the same confused tone.

Renjun raises his eyebrows. A quick glance outside makes him roll his eyes. "You're not going anywhere in this weather, Jaemin. I thought you were already staying over?"

Jaemin looks down at their hands. "Am I even welcome?" He murmurs.

Renjun feels a prick in his heart. Jaemin is out of his comfort zone with the fact that Renjun's mother knows about him being here that he doesn't know how to feel. Renjun didn't think it was this bad. He places his free hand on Jaemin's cheek, urging the other to look up. "Jaemin, ofcourse you are." His voice is steady, determined. "My mum has been dying to meet you for the longest time. I promise you don't have to bring yourself down. She'll love you," he smiles, "she already does, I think."

Jaemin still looks uncertain, Renjun can read it plain as day in his eyes, but he musters up a shaky smile. "I hope she does." He leans into Renjun's touch.

Renjun plants a soft kiss on Jaemin's lips to further reassure him. "She's not that bad."

Those simple words are what get Jaemin to relax. Renjun is right. Renjun's mother wasn't Jaemin's father. Jaemin may have had shitty parents, but that doesn't mean Renjun's mother is the same. He smiles. It's a real one this time, eyes crinkling and cheekbones full. Renjun smiles back. With one last kiss on Renjun's lips, Jaemin's worries are cleared. The two walk downstairs hand in hand and sit beside each other, facing Renjun's mother. They eat in comfortable silence. Renjun's mother fills Jaemin's plate and chastises him for eating too little.

"So, Jaemin, how long have you and Renjun been together?"

Jaemin is shy as he looks up from his bowl of rice. He swallows the food in his mouth before answering. "We'll be on our ninth month on November eleven, Ma'am."

Renjun's hand slithers on Jaemin's thigh, providing comfort and warmth. Jaemin glances at his boyfriend and his boyfriend winks at him.

"Are you two classmates?"

Jaemin shakes his head. "No, Ma'am. But we're both taking the same track."

Renjun's mother hums at the answer. "How do you two know each other, then?"

Jaemin and Renjun freeze. They look at each other with wide eyes. A nonverbal conversation takes place with their eyes. Renjun is the one who answers this time. "I saw him in the library." He answers simply. It was the truth, albeit a huge chunk of the details taken out.

His mother eyes the two of them for a few seconds and gets that what happened may have been too personal. The questions stop after that, and the rest of dinnertime goes by without any further interruption. When the pitcher of water runs out, Renjun and his mother go to the kitchen to fetch one, leaving Jaemin alone at the table.

"Really, mum? I have to help you get one pitcher of water?" Renjun teases with an eyebrow up.

"Oh, hush. I'm sure Jaemin knows why I called you in here, anyway." His mother moves her hand in a shooing motion. "I think he's lovely."

Renjun's heart flutters at the compliment to his boyfriend. Jaemin truly is lovely, and he's glad that his mother thinks so, too. "I know," he doesn't even bother to hide the lovesick smile creeping onto his lips. "Ah," he says, remembering something. "He left the door open for you. He didn't want you to think we were doing anything."

They both chuckle at that. "Yes, I gathered. What a thoughtful boy."

They walk back into the dining table, where Jaemin was still silently eating. He smiles at the mother and son when he sees them emerge from the kitchen. Dinner is finished after a few more minutes and the two boys help to clean up. When Renjun's mother asks Jaemin to help her with the dishes, Jaemin sends Renjun a panicked look. Renjun gives him a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the small of his back to reassure Jaemin that he would be in the living room, waiting for them to finish. When Jaemin walks into the kitchen, he finds that Renjun's mother has been waiting for him.

"I understand your discomfort towards me, Jaemin, since this is our first time meeting. I know Renjun has told you about me before, which I think explains why you're uneasy about me, but I hope you know that Renjun and I have put everything in the past. We are better now. I trust Renjun, and since Renjun clearly loves you, I have no reason to doubt you." Renjun's mother tells him.

Jaemin feels her words float around him in a comforting manner. Maybe he was worrying too much. He nods.

She smiles, and Jaemin can see where Renjun's dazzling features come from. "Now, let's get to these dishes."

They easily fall into a dynamic : Renjun's mother soaps the dishes and hands them to Jaemin, who rinses them and places them in the dishrack to dry. While they get into their routine, she asks more questions.

"Do your parents know that you'll be staying over? Do you need me to talk to them for you?"

It's the wrong question to ask, but Jaemin takes it easily. Renjun's mother doesn't know about his parents. Besides, he had a feeling the topic would come up anyway. Jaemin clears his throat before answering. "I don't really need to," he starts, "I don't have them anymore." He says simply.

He notices that she pauses for a split second before continuing to scrub the sponge on a plate. "May I ask what happened?"

**[ hi!! this is where the implied cheating / abuse / violence. you can stop reading here and then skip to the end marker :^) ]**

Jaemin nods even though Renjun's mother isn't looking at him. "My mother left us for another family when I was six. My dad died just a few months ago." He's relieved that his voice didn't crack.

Only then does Renjun's mother look at him, setting down a new plate and the sponge. "I'm sorry to hear that, Jaemin."

Jaemin smiles, shaking his head. "It's alright," he says, because it is. "My parents weren't good at their job, anyway." He's putting it lightly, very lightly, but he doesn't think Renjun's mother would appreciate it if he cussed his parents out. "I've been living with these people I consider my family since I was ten." His heart warms at the thought of the Caerulum Wolves. His true family. "They gave me a better life. My brother figure, Taeyong, was actually the one who encouraged me to go to school. They took me in and took care of me at my young age even though there was nothing in it for them."

Renjun's mother sees the glazed look on Jaemin's face. She thinks that's what she looks like when she talks about Renjun, too. "That's how you know you belong in a good family, Jaemin. When they love you and never expect anything in return." She turns back to the dishes. "I hope you know that you have a family here, too. We're a small family, but we're here." She bumps her hip against Jaemin, who stumbles at the unexpected action.

Jaemin feels the tips of his ears heating up and he just knows they're red. He nods. "Thankyou, Ma'am."

"Renjun has probably told you this already, but it's just been me and him ever since he was three. His father was abusive and I feared for Renjun's life every day. Thankfully, our lives have been peaceful ever since we left."

Jaemin gasps at the information. Renjun has never talked about his father, so Jaemin never asked. It was obvious that Renjun's father was out of the picture, but Jaemin never expected this. "I'm so sorry to hear about that. I see why Renjun never told me."

Renjun's mother sighs. "It's alright. Just like you said about yours, Renjun's father wasn't very good at his job either." She says, tone light.

**[ hi!! this is where it ends hehe :^) basically, renjun has no father, and jaemin has no parents, but that taeyong and the rest of the caerulum wolves took him in and they became family :^) ]**

They share a laugh, because there's nothing better to say after that. Renjun's mother asks lighter questions that Jaemin has no problem answering. She asks about his academics and Jaemin is proud to talk about his grades picking up thanks to Renjun's help. Jaemin talks about his Caerulum brothers, unable to stop himself from speaking fondly about them, especially the team he leads. He talks about how Jeno was his bestfriend and the first person to approach him and introduce him to the group. Jaemin takes care to not mention the Caerulum Wolves by name and to keep his stories as general as possible so as to not reveal himself as a gang member. He doesn't know how severely Renjun's mother would react if she found out that Jaemin regularly skips classes to deliver drugs and had been so exposed to crimes, most of the time even committing them himself, that he no longer bats an eye whenever his members come home with a few too many injuries. Jaemin talks about how he first realised his feelings for Renjun. He feels guilt coming back to him as he shamefully tells the story of how he avoided Renjun like the plague when Renjun confessed.

In turn, Renjun's mother tells stories of Renjun when he was younger. She doesn't leave out even the most embarrassing memories, at Jaemin stores every story in his mind. She talks about the rift in their relationship when Renjun grew older and stepped into highschool, about the pressure she put onto Renjun to do excellently in school. She also talks about how she struggled to fix her relationship with her son as he had shut her out. She speaks with a more joyful tone when she tells Jaemin of how she and Renjun finally opened up to each other over tissues and a gallon of icecream and how that night was the defining moment of their relationship.

The two don't notice that all the dishes have been cleaned as they lean against the sink, still sharing stories. They only stop when Renjun walks inside, wondering what was taking so long. Renjun and Jaemin say goodnight and the three of them go into their respective rooms. Renjun's mother gives them a hug, and Renjun feels content to see Jaemin accepting the hug easily. Renjun's mother whispers something in Jaemin's ear that makes him go red before they enter their rooms.

Renjun and Jaemin are back in bed, Renjun's face tucked in Jaemin's chest, Jaemin's chin on Renjun's head. Jaemin finally gives in to Renjun's attempts to know what his mother had said. "She just said she appreciated me leaving the door open earlier and that we could close the door now, but she hopes we won't be doing anything we shouldn't be while she's at home."

Renjun laughs. It's definitely something his mother would say. "She's just teasing,"

"I know." Jaemin hugs Renjun tighter. "I had fun talking to her earlier," he says. Renjun stays quiet, knowing Jaemin has more to say, eyes and ears attentive. "I never really got the chance to, well, have a conversation like that with a parent. Taeyong doesn't count, not even Taeil, since I see them as my brothers." Jaemin breathes out. "It was nice. I felt really nice."

Renjun smiles. "I'm glad. She's your family, too. You have a parent now."

Jaemin feels tears start to blur his vision, but he forces them down with a light chuckle. "She said something similar to me as well."

Renjun kisses Jaemin's collarbone. "That's good. I told you she loves you already."

Jaemin brings Renjun's face up. "I love you, Injunie." He leans in, and their lips touch. Renjun tastes minty, like the toothpaste they used while getting ready for bed. "Thankyou for loving me the way you do."

Renjun's lips feel warmer when he comes back in for another kiss. "Thankyou for letting me love you."

This time, it's Jaemin who falls asleep first. The storm is still rolling even late into the night and the raindrops tap against Renjun's window. Renjun can feel Jaemin making a larger home in his heart, and he doesn't mind at all. Renjun falls asleep to the thought of giving Jaemin the world.

**Author's Note:**

> the rainy scene where jaemin and renjun are cuddling and renjun falls asleep was inspired by my music app playing me [astronomy by the likes of us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WVq2sAySMA). i recommend you listen to the song because it's super nice huhu i absolutely love it
> 
> thankyou for reading! don't forget to leave a comment and a kudo!
> 
> please check out my other [works!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KAHULAYAW/works)  
> [(twitter)](https://twitter.com/PEACHBERRYNANA)


End file.
